The Conservation Alliance to Hold Grant Review Presentation at Outdoor Retailer

July 20, 2011 - PRLog -- Bend, Ore., July 19, 2011 – The Conservation Alliance will hold a one-hour seminar at the upcoming Outdoor Retailer trade show to provide members with detailed information about the projects under review for the organization’s Summer 2011 funding cycle. The grant review session is on Friday, August 5, 9-10 AM at The Marriott, Salons F-I, immediately following The Conservation Alliance Breakfast.

Conservation Alliance member companies vote to determine which organizations should receive funding from the Alliance. For the Summer 2011 cycle, the Alliance has allocated $550,000 in grant funding, and 28 organizations will be included on the final ballot. The Alliance will fund 17-20 of those projects.

“For the first time at an OR Show, we are offering our members the opportunity to learn more about the groups on the ballot, and ask questions of staff,” said John Sterling, Conservation Alliance Executive Director. “We hope this session helps our members make more informed choices when deciding which organizations should receive our fund.”

During the session, Sterling will deliver a slide presentation about each of the projects included on the ballot, and open the room to questions about any of the projects. The Conservation Alliance board conceived this educational session with hopes of increasing member participation in the voting process.

“We will contribute more than $1 million this year for the first time,” said Sterling. “We want our members to make solid decisions on where we send those funds.”

Conservation Alliance staff will send the ballot to members immediately after the OR Show. Groups included on the ballot are:

Alaska Wilderness League
American Rivers
Appalachian Mountain Club
Audubon Alaska
Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society
Carolina Mountain Land Conservancy
Colorado Environmental Coalition
Downeast Lakes Land Trust
Foothills Water Network
Forest Ethics
Friends of the River
Idaho Conservation League
International Mountain Bicycling Assn.
Klamath-Siskyou Wildlands Center
Oregon Natural Desert Association
Raincoast Conservation Foundation
Rocky Mountain Wild
Save Our Canyons
Skeena Watershed Conservation Coalition
Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance
Surfrider Foundation
The Nature Conservancy, NH Chapter
Tuleyome
Upstate Forever
Ventana Wilderness Alliance
Wilderness Support Center
Winter Wildlands Alliance
Wyoming Outdoor Council


About The Conservation Alliance:
The Conservation Alliance is an organization of outdoor businesses whose collective contributions support grassroots environmental organizations and their efforts to protect wild places where outdoor enthusiasts recreate. Alliance funds have played a key role in protecting rivers, trails, wildlands and climbing areas.

Membership in the Alliance is open to companies representing all aspects of the outdoor industry, including manufacturers, retailers, publishers, mills and sales representatives. The result is a diverse group of businesses whose livelihood depends on protecting our natural environment.

Since its inception in 1989, the Alliance has contributed more than $9.3 million to grassroots environmental groups. Alliance funding has helped save over 50.5 million acres of wildlands; 28 dams have either been stopped or removed; and the group helped preserve access to more than 17,000 miles of waterways and several climbing areas.

For complete information on the Conservation Alliance, see www.conservationalliance.com